


Good Soldiers Follow Orders

by TheJediCode



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Brotherhood, Clone Troopers - Freeform, Clone Wars, Clones, Good soldiers follow orders, The Clone Wars - Freeform, War, discontent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:27:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23624593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheJediCode/pseuds/TheJediCode
Summary: To be a good soldier of the Republic, you must do what you are told.No matter what.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 17





	Good Soldiers Follow Orders

Good soldiers follow orders.

You polish your armor. You paint it with colors that match your _vode._ It becomes a reflection of yourself and of your relationship to the men standing with you in formation. You paint stripes on it, fancy designs – whatever strikes your fancy. You are granted this freedom. You are allowed to express yourself through your armor. It will inevitably be covered with scratches and dents, but damage is permissible. You do not have to keep it in impeccable condition. However, when they tell you to put on the armor, put it on. 

Good soldiers follow orders.

You clean your blaster. It is a meticulous process. Every ridge, every crevice, every last inch of it is ingrained in your memory from repeating the regimen over and over. You know this instrument of war inside and out. You take care of your weapon. It needs to be in working order at all times. A malfunctioning blaster is unacceptable. In the heat of battle, a misfire is a death sentence. They will tell you when to fire and where. Shoot at what they tell you, when they tell you to do it.

Good soldiers follow orders.

You know your brothers. You all look alike, but you can pick each and every one of them out of a crowd. Different armor, different voices, different haircuts, different tattoos – you all make yourselves distinguishable from the rest. Everyone has a number, but they also all have names. You share a bond greater than brotherhood; you share a sense of self. This helps you work as a single unit in the midst of war, but when they tell you to march forward, let go of your dying _vod_ ’s hand, stand up, and march forward.

Good soldiers follow orders.

You are knowledgeable of all environments and terrains. You have fought in plains, mountains, cities, swamps, and even underwater. There are no surroundings in which you are not an effective combatant. You can navigate the inside of a crowded building as easily as you can a deserted wasteland. So when they tell you to detonate that building, do it, and try your best to ignore the screams of the ones who didn’t make it out in time.

Good soldiers follow orders.

You take care of yourself. You train, you exercise, and you keep your body in peak physical condition. You need to move like a well-oiled machine because your enemies _are_ machines. A battle droid can march longer than a normal man but maybe not longer than a clone. It is important to stay healthy and agile so you can stay alive, but when they tell you to die, do it.

Good soldiers follow orders.

You see your brothers slaughtered in droves and watch as they suffer painful ends. You see the needless deaths of civilians. You _cause_ some of those needless deaths. Agony and destruction close in from all sides, and it becomes harder and harder to tell who the villains are with each passing day. When they tell you it is time to prepare for battle again, get ready.

Good soldiers follow orders.

You clean the blaster that has taken out droids and sentient beings alike, and you put on your battle-scarred armor. You wipe a dead clone’s spattered blood off of your helmet before putting it on. You look at the men around you as you get into formation and wonder if they have the same doubts as you. You do not question the orders you are given, not out loud. It starts to feel wrong, though – all of the fighting and destruction. The motives gets cloudier. When they give you orders, though, follow them to a T.

Good soldiers follow orders.

You are a good soldier. You are loyal to the Republic. These words repeat over and over again in your head as you try to remember why the fighting started in the first place. You follow orders. You do what you are told. If they tell you to kill, then kill. If they tell you to die, then die. That is what good soldiers do, and you want to be a good soldier. The Republic needs good soldiers. That means the Republic needs you to follow orders. When they tell you what to do, do not question it. Bad soldiers question orders, and the Republic has no use for bad soldiers. Clones who are of no use to the Republic are of no use to anyone else.

Soldiers who know what is good for them follow orders.


End file.
